Herbaria parallels the act of preservation through botany and film.
Leandro Listorti’s visually enthralling documentary, Herbaria, presented by the Vulnerable Media Lab (VML) in the Department of Film and Media, was screened on Sept. 10 at The Screening Room. Directed by Listorti, Herbaria explores the parallel between the preservation of film and botany, examining how both processes are interconnected with preserving film and plants.
The VML is a state-of-the-art audiovisual lab thatp scans, digitizes, and restores various forms of media including 35mm, 16mm, and 8mm film. A key objective of the project is to work and explore material vulnerabilities of “obsolete” and “marginal” media. The department chose to share Herbaria as it speaks to the mandate of digitization, curatorial work, and restoration projects—blending 16mm and archival footage together to create the film.
“Our hope is that audiences will learn a bit about what our practice entails and get the word out both about the VML’s internal operations as well as our curatorial ambitions for the future,” Adam Cook, a research associate at the VML, said in an interview with The Journal.
Listorti investigates different materials and how to preserve them, claiming his films are a “constant search for material, a search that never ends.” His film, Herbaria, won the 2023 Best Documentary at the Argentinian Film Critic Association Awards.
The comparison between film and botany that characterized Herbaria created a commentary on memory and the inherent connection between every living thing. For instance, one scene discussed how film tapes are created using gelatin, which can be tarnished over time by the growth of bacterial fungus. This scene showed an underrated fashion in which film, plants, and growth are all connected, while also depicting how time and life touches all.
“Both materials connect us to time beyond our immediate present. They can illuminate our past— both plants and film—and help us prepare and understand the future. For example, some plants that were preserved from over 100 years ago have recently provided insight into the effects of global warming today. That wasn’t why they were conserved but the purposes of preserving life and culture in every sense extend beyond any single purview in a single point of time,” Cook said.
The film had scenes that took place in Berlin, Argentina, and Patagonia. The various locations used help to strengthen Listorti’s message that all human life is connected and drawn to similar concepts.
One woman who lived in Patagonia tells the viewers that “flowers announce a human presence,” highlighting the connection between plants and humanity. As living things and living memories on this Earth, we are all connected.
“We lack the sort of presence of diverse types of film that a town like Kingston, and a university like Queen’s should be exposed to,” Cook said, emphasizing Kingston’s need for more poetic films and documentaries such as Herbaria.
The VML and the film department wanted Herbaria to teach us a lesson about preservation. Viewers of Herbaria learn through Listorti’s carefully planned shots, the interconnectedness of all practices, and the fragility of space and time.
Herbaria and the VML show us how special it is to work with materials that carefully capture time in the palm of our hands.
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